“UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort” Draws 17,428 Fans for $2.4 Mil Gate

You can call the UFC’s first-ever trip to Dallas, Texas a smashing success as president Dana White announced that last night’s UFC 103 event drew 17,428 fans to the American Airlines Center for an estimated live gate of $2.4 million.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation’s Combative Sports division, the division that handles the official figures from Texas’ sanctioning body, should have the finalized figures within the next couple of weeks, however they shouldn’t be too far off from what White professed at last night’s post-fight presser.

UFC 103 was headlined by a 195-pound catchweight scrap between former UFC champions Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin. Franklin was a tad too gracious in welcoming back Belfort to the Octagon as the former UFC light heavyweight champ put Franklin on Queer Street just before the end of the 1stRound.

This fight card, which was heavily promoted to counter the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez boxing pay-per-view broadcast, produced the largest sports gate in American Airlines Center history. Only a 2005 Rolling Stones concert produced a bigger live gate than UFC 103.

Without a doubt, America’s largest state represented big time. With their impressive performance on Saturday evening, White said that it was highly likely that Dallas has earned themselves another UFC event in 2010.